separate

Etymology

Latin separatus, perfect passive participle of separare (“to separate”), from Latin sē- (“apart”) +‎ parō (“prepare”). Displaced Middle English scheden, from Old English scēadan.

Pronunciation

• (adjective, noun) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛp(ə)ɹət/
• (verb) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛpəɹeɪt/

• Audio (US), adjective

  (file)

• Audio (US), verb

  (file)

• Hyphenation: sep‧a‧rate

Adjective

separate (not comparable)

1. Apart from (the rest); not connected to or attached to (anything else).

   This chair can be disassembled into five separate pieces.

2. (followed by “from”) Not together (with); not united (to).

   I try to keep my personal life separate from work.

Verb

separate (third-person singular simple present separates, present participle separating, simple past and past participle separated)

1. (transitive) To divide (a thing) into separate parts.

   Separate the articles from the headings.

2. To disunite something from one thing; To disconnect.
   • Dryden

     From the fine gold I separate the alloy.

   • Bible, Romans viii. 35

     Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

3. (transitive) To cause (things or people) to be separate.
   • 2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36:

     It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: […];  […]; or perhaps to muse on the irrelevance of the borders that separate nation states and keep people from understanding their shared environment.

   If the kids get too noisy, separate them for a few minutes.

4. (intransitive) To divide itself into separate pieces or substances.

   The sauce will separate if you don't keep stirring.

5. (obsolete) To set apart; to select from among others, as for a special use or service.
   • Bible, Acts xiii. 2

     Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

Noun

separate (plural separates)

1. (usually in the plural) Anything that is sold by itself, especially an article of clothing.
   • 2017 October 2, Jess Cartner-Morle, “Stella McCartney lays waste to disposable fashion in Paris”, in the Guardian‎:

     French taffeta evening separates – a puffball skirt, and a ruffled blouse – were pressed flat to drag them up to date.

Usage notes

• The spelling is separate (-par-). seperate (-per-) is a common misspelling.

See also

• disunite
• disconnect
• divide
• split
• reduce
• subtract

Anagrams

• asperate

Adjective

separate

1. inflected form of separat

Verb

separate

1. second-person plural indicative present of separare
2. second-person plural imperative of separare

Verb

sēparāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of sēparō

References

• separate in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• separate in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• separate in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette

Adjective

separate

1. definite singular of separat
2. plural of separat

Adjective

separate

1. definite singular of separat
2. plural of separat